


Every Part of You

by sanctuary_for_all



Series: Partners [9]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Feels, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2018-04-29
Packaged: 2019-04-29 10:29:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14470698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanctuary_for_all/pseuds/sanctuary_for_all
Summary: Instead of the joke he’d been hoping for, Steve’s expression turned oddly fragile. “I wouldn’t want to tell you, even if they’d let me,” he said quietly. “I don’t want you knowing that part of me.”





	Every Part of You

**Author's Note:**

> This is another flashback fic, set before they got engaged.

The absence next to him in the bed was what woke Danny up more than the quiet sounds of someone bustling around the bedroom. Steve had sat down on the chair near the foot of the bed, bent over doing something to his shoes, and… shit, he was wearing his fatigues.

The last vestiges of sleep vanished as Danny pushed himself up into a sitting position. “Did they change your Reserves weekend for some reason?” he asked, battling back his disappointment. Then, realizing something, he looked over at the alarm clock. “And if they did, shouldn’t you have left an hour ago?”

“It’s not my Reserves weekend.” Steve hesitated, expression closed off, and Danny realized suddenly that this was the face that always meant Steve was about to do something he absolutely didn’t want to do. “They just need me at the base for a little while.”

Danny’s stomach twisted hard, pure terror shooting through him. “Are you getting reactivated?”

“No, I swear it.” Steve stood up, everything else he’d been feeling vanishing in his attempt to reassure, and came over to sit down on Danny’s edge of the bed. “They just need to talk to someone about an old op. I’m the only one who—” Steve faltered for a split second, expression closing off a little again, and Danny could hear the _who’s still alive_ as easily as if he’d said it out loud “—who’s in the country right now. I might even be back in time for lunch.”

Danny didn’t trust the Navy as far as he could throw them, and he sure as _hell_ didn’t trust them with one of the two most important people in the world. “Will you be able to call and tell us if you’re not?” he asked, mostly managing to keep the bitterness out of his voice. “Or is that classified, too?”

Pain flashed in Steve’s eyes, and Danny immediately felt like an ass. “Sorry. That wasn’t at you.” He leaned forward enough to grab Steve’s hand, pressing a kiss against the back of it. “Make sure to kiss Grace goodbye before you go, and don’t let them send you out of the country. Other than that, get back as soon as you can.”

“They’re not sending me anywhere, Danny.” Steve’s voice was rough with emotion. “I promise.”

Danny knew full well that promise was outside the range of things that were actually in Steve’s power, but he appreciated hearing it just the same. “They’d better not, or I will absolutely go over there and kick their asses.”

The ghost of a smile flickered over Steve’s face. “I’ll warn them.” Then it disappeared again, leaving his expression painfully sober. “Believe me, Danny. There’s nothing in any of those mission files you want to know about.”

He squeezed Steve’s hand. “Don’t worry.” He tried to keep his voice light, wanting Steve’s face to relax again. “I’m not going to get you in trouble with your bosses for sharing state secrets.”

Instead of the joke he’d been hoping for, Steve’s expression turned oddly fragile. “I wouldn’t want to tell you, even if they’d let me,” he said quietly. “I don’t want you knowing that part of me.”

Danny’s chest twisted. See, _this_ was why he needed to know what was in those files. The man he loved was a teddy bear that someone had thoughtlessly shoved into a uniform when he was way the hell too young, and every single one of those covert missions had left scars that could open up again at any moment. Danny wanted to know every single place Steve’s heart could start bleeding, every place where the scar tissue was knotted up enough to hurt, because he hadn’t been there to stop any of the wounds from forming but he was going to damn well do what he could to heal them.

Right now, though, he didn’t have to go digging to find this one. Curving his other hand around the back of Steve’s neck, he tugged him forward until their foreheads were pressed together. He looked Steve dead in the eyes, the words a promise down to the depths of his soul. “I know _every_ part of you, Steve McGarrett.” Danny might not know what the Navy had made him do, but he absolutely knew the brave, stoic soldier boy who would break his own heart a thousand times over if it meant he could keep other people safe. “And there is not a _single_ part of you that will ever scare me.”

Steve closed his eyes, the tension finally easing out of him. After a moment, his lips even curved upward a little. “ _For_ me, maybe.”

The pressure in Danny’s own chest finally eased. “That’s a different thing entirely.” He captured Steve’s mouth for a long, slow kiss, full of all the promises they’d ever made to each other without words.

When they finally broke apart, Danny made himself let go completely. “If you end up having to shoot your way out,” he said, forcing his voice to lightness again. “Let me know and I’ll bring backup.”

Steve actually grinned at that. “I will.”

000

Steve did kiss Grace goodbye before he left, but Danny was the one who had to soothe the disappointed daughter who’d been left behind. They made French toast while they consoled each other over the sudden absence, and Danny reassured her three separate times that Uncle Steve absolutely wasn’t being reactivated. They went through the rest of the day almost normally, though they both jumped at every small sound that might have theoretically been Steve’s truck.

Finally, just as they were about to finally make themselves leave the house for pizza and a Redbox run, the truck finally pulled up. Grace abandoned him at a dead run, throwing her arms around Steve’s waist the moment they made contact, and Danny could practically see the tension melt out of Steve’s body once she did.

Danny was slower, but only because he was so busy enjoying the view. “You’re here just in time to go get dinner and the evening’s entertainment with us.” He didn’t bother to fight his smile as he moved close enough to get a kiss. “Which is good, because between the two of us we can outvote Grace on the choice of movie.”

Steve grinned, stealing another kiss. “Actually, I'm starting to think romances aren't so bad.”

Danny gave a mock sigh, sliding an arm around Steve’s back as they walked into the house. “I am _surrounded_ by people who have absolutely no taste in movies.”

Grace grinned, leaning her head against Steve’s side. “You love us anyway, though.”

Steve smiled, pressing a kiss against Danny’s hair. “Lucky for us.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come check out my [original fiction,](https://jennifferwardell.wixsite.com/mybooks) my [blog,](http://jennifferwardell.blogspot.com) or say hi to me on [Tumblr](http://sanctuaryforalluniverses.tumblr.com)!


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